RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and the great Monty Oum. Warning: quite angsty.

Jaune's eyes snapped open as he heard the screams of people ringing all around him. As he turned his head from side to side in confusion, his vision cleared and he let out an audible gasp of surprise as the buildings came into view. What surprised him the most was that he knew the city. "Why...Why am I back in Vale?" He asked himself.

Suddenly, a low and menacing growl caused Jaune to stiffen and slowly turn around. His pupils shrunk in horror as he saw a Beowolf ripping into the carcass of an unfortunate person. Wanting to not alert the creature, Jaune slowly back away. His efforts proved futile, however, as his right foot stepped on a branch causing it to snap. 'Oh no.' Jaune thought in fear.

The Beowolf, upon hearing something, lifted his head up and sniffed the air around it. As its eyes fell on Jaune, it growled and licked its jaw in hunger. Jaune's breathed rapidly as he tried to formulate a plan to take down the monster. As he looked around trying to find something that might help him, his eyes fell on a familiar sword and shield attached to his body. Feeling a glimmer of hope course through his body, he unsheathed Corcea Mors and enlarged his shield before staring back at the Beowolf.

The creature of Grimm reared its ugly head and howled before charging at the boy. Jaune placed his right foot forward as the beast came closer and closer. As the Beowolf swung his right claw at him, Jaune tucked and rolled forward to dodge the attack. He then swung the sword multiple times at the monster's mid-section. After a few seconds, he paused as the Beowolf stood motionless. His lips soon turned into a smile as the creature keeled onto its back, dead.

'Alright,' Jaune thought as he turned away from the beast and put away his weapons, 'Gotta find out what's going on and why I'm–'

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he heard what sounded like hissing coming from behind him. He turned quickly to see a King Taijitu towering over him with its bright red eyes fixated on him. 'W-When did that get here?' He thought to himself. Before he could reach for Corcea Mors, however, the giant snake constricted its body around him and slowly began to squeeze him tightly. Jaune struggled to release himself from the Grimm's death grip, but his efforts seemed futile as the snake kept tightening itself around his body the more he tried to break free. The King Taijitu then reared its head back and bared his long, poisonous fangs at him. As the snake then lunged forward, Jaune closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable to happen.

But after a moment, the attack never came. Jaune slowly opened his right eye and saw that the city and the Grimm had disappeared, leaving him standing in a black void. As he relaxed his body knowing that he wouldn't be attacked, his mind began to produce several questions. Where did King Taijitu go? How did the city vanish? Where was he? How would he get out of this place?

"Jaune?"

The feminine voice brought Jaune back from his thoughts. But what made the voice more shocking was the fact that it was hauntingly familiar. Not wanting to believe what he was hearing, the boy turned his head slowly. His eyes widened in shock as his gaze met that of Pyrrha Nikos. He didn't want to believe it, but there she was. Her red hair pulled into a ponytail, her armor shining brightly, and her green eyes staring back at him. "P-Pyrrha?" Jaune said weakly, not knowing how to handle the situation.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha said as she slowly walked toward him. A smile slowly grew on the boy's face as he walked toward her as well. The smile faded, however, when he noticed Pyrrha's left slowly disintegrate and turn to ash. "Jaune," she said as her face turned to worry and she raised her right arm to reach out for him, "help me."

"No, no, no, NO!" Jaune cried out in fear as he ran towards her. But when he had almost reached her, Pyrrha's body had faded into ashes. Jaune skidded to a halt as he fell to his knees and began futilely sifting through the ashes. "Pyrrha, don't do this." He said desperately as his voice broke. "Don't...please...PLEASE DON'T LEAVE!" He cried out as tears began to flow from his eyes. After a minute of sifting, he stopped and clenched a handful of ashes as he continued to cry.

Suddenly, a cruel, cold laugh echoed throughout the void. Jaune's eyes snapped open as he heard the haunting sounds of high-heeled shoes walking towards him. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A sultry, cold voice asked from behind him. "Looks to me like the knight lost his fair maiden."

"Cinder..." Jaune said through gritted teeth as he clenched his hand. With a cry of anger, he turned around and reached for Crecoa Mors. His face changed from anger to shock, however, when he didn't feel the sword attached to his hip.

Cinder only chuckled before saying, "Lost something, little boy?" Before Jaune could react, she kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall onto his back. As he tried to get up, Cinder planted her right foot onto Jaune's chest pinning him down. She then smiled cruelly at him and asked, "How does it feel to know that no matter what you did, you failed to save her? It must hurt, doesn't it? And do you know what's even worse?" She asked as she lowered her face down. "The fact that no matter what you do, you will always be too weak and pathetic to save those you care about. Your friends...your family...everyone. Now," she added as she produced flames in her left hand, "I think it's time we ended this pathetic game. So just lie back and sleep." She then aimed her left hand at Jaune's face before saying "Just...like...her."

Jaune soon felt his entire body engulfed in flames. He tried to cry out for help, but no words came out of his mouth. He then heard Cinder's cold and merciless laughter as she smiled evilly at him in amusement. Soon, Jaune's vision became blurry as the flames grew stronger. Finally accepting his fate, Jaune gave out a silent cry of pain and anguish.

"AAAAH!" Jaune said as he sat upright and reached his hand out for something. As his vision cleared, he realized that he was reaching out for nothing. As he breathed rapidly, he saw that he was lying in one of the guest beds at the Xiao Long house. One glance at the clock showed him the time to be 6:30 a.m. As he noticed the glimmer of sunlight just barely touching the treetops of the surrounding forest, he then settled back onto his bed and placed an arm over his eyes. 'A dream.' He thought. 'Just another dream.'

For a few minutes, Jaune remained in his bed, trying to gather his senses. Afterward, he sighed and got out of bed. He then walked slowly through the hallway on the second floor so as to not wake up Tai or Yang until he walked down the stairs to the first floor. As he entered the kitchen, he walked over to the coffee maker and made twelve cups of coffee for himself, Tai, and Yang. As soon as it was all set, he poured himself a cup and leaned against the kitchen counter.

It had been a couple of weeks since Jaune had decided to stay with Tai and Yang instead of joining Nora, Ren, and Ruby. The three of them would receive some correspondence from them from time to time, just so that Tai could rest easy knowing his daughter was still alive. Yet every time he would read their letters, Jaune still felt sad at the fact that he wasn't with his remaining teammates.

Yang, on the other hand, barely showed any emotions when Jaune would read the letters to her. In fact, she barely showed any emotion to anything in general. She rarely came out of her room except for meals and even then there wasn't much talk between her and the blonde males. Jaune was saddened by her state of depression; it was like the fire of confidence that once raged inside her had been doused to a mere flicker.

The feeling of little paws pressed against his leg snapped Jaune out of his thoughts. He looked down and smiled at the little black and white corgi looking up at him. "Hey, buddy." He whispered as he scratched Zwei's right ear. "Did I wake you up?" The corgi tilted his head at him and shook his head. Jaune chuckled at the dog's comedic behavior as he opened the back door to let Zwei do his "business".

As Jaune saw Zwei trot through the snow, he smiled a bit at the fact that despite missing his friends and teammates, things at the Xiao Long residence wasn't all too bad. Tai kept him busy doing chores around the house and would occasionally have him go into town to get a few odds and ends. He was also an all-around nice guy; he would ask Jaune about his family and could sympathize with the fact that they were both outnumbered by the number of girls in their families. Zwei had warmed up to Jaune almost instantly; he would sit on Jaune's lap whenever he wanted belly rubs or would tug on his pant leg whenever he wanted to play fetch. Jaune could see how Weiss would fall for such an adorable little dog and spoil him rotten.

He heard the creaking of the stairs indicating someone being awake. Sure enough, Tai entered the kitchen scratching his hair groggily and a smile on his face. "Morning." He said, to which Jaune raised his coffee cup in acknowledgment. As Tai poured himself a cup, he then sat at the table and unfurled the newspaper. "Well," he said as he read the front page, "Nothing new to report on the situation at Beacon. Just that more citizens have been evacuated at Vale and that more Grimm keep coming."

"Any update on that dragon?" Jaune asked as he opened the door to let Zwei back inside.

"Nope," Tai said simply as he scanned the paper. "Reports say that it's still frozen."

"Well, at least there's that," Jaune said, trying to sound optimistic. "As long as it remains that way, the worst Huntsmen and Huntresses have to deal with will be Nevermores and Ursa Majors."

"Hmm." Tai hummed in acknowledgment. There was a silence that grew between them before Tai added, "Listen, after you shower, I'll need you to go into town and get some groceries and supplies. We're kinda running low."

"Sure thing," Jaune said as he finished his coffee and washed the cup. "If you could make me some lists, I can get the stuff." With that, he went upstairs to take a shower. He soon passed by the guest room that Yang was currently staying in. The door was closed, as it had been for the past few weeks. Jaune sighed sadly as he continued his way past the door.

After taking a shower and putting on some warmer clothes, Jaune headed downstairs where he found two separate lists waiting for him on the counter. One was for groceries, the other for supplies at the local blacksmith. Jaune then put on his winter coat, boots, and gloves and headed down the snowy path toward town.

When he was a good forty feet away, Jaune turned to look up at Yang's bedroom window and waved, hoping that she had seen him. Whether he got a response or not, he withdrew his hand and continued his way down the road. Jaune sighed in sadness; he wished that Yang would at least talk to him. It wouldn't have to be about one specific thing; anything would have been fine. Ever since Ren, Nora, and Ruby left, Jaune had been feeling lonely. All he wanted was to talk to someone from his days at Beacon; someone he knew and could relate to, who could remind him of what his life was before the attack. As of now, the only person he could talk to and remind him of happier times was Yang, and she had practically barred herself from everyone and everything. Jaune sighed again, knowing that it would take a while before she could return to any form of normality. But he didn't care; he told himself he would wait as long as it took.

After a good thirty minutes, Jaune could see the small town of Luxaria. It was a small town with the usual shops, restaurants, and vendors. It was way smaller by Vale's standards, but for the people living on the island, it was adequate enough. As he made his way into town, Jaune noticed that people were window-shopping, running errands, and socializing. They were going about their lives as if nothing bad had happened in the past few months. Jaune knew that they must have received word or saw what happened at Vale and Beacon before the CCT Tower fell. 'I guess everyone has a way to cope with that stuff.' He thought as he continued on his way.

Jaune's first stop was the grocers. While there, he purchased apples, lettuce, some cherimoyas (those took some time to find), bread, canned dog food, eggs, and milk. While in the check-out line, he felt something hard and pointy touching the back of his knee. He turned to see a little boy poking him with a small wooden sword while holding onto his mother's hand.

"I'm sorry." The mother said as she picked up the boy and bounced him up and down in her arms. "He does that whenever he's bored."

"It's alright," Jaune said with a warm smile, "he definitely caught me by surprise."

The woman smiled at her son before saying, "It's his favorite toy; he wants to be a Huntsman like his father."

"Really?" Jaune asked in amusement. He then turned his attention to the boy and said, "Well, if you keep training hard and never give up on your dream, you may become a great Huntsman one day." The boy smiled at Jaune's words.

After Jaune bought the groceries, he then made his way to the local blacksmith. When he arrived, he felt the heat emitting from the flames and the mixture of smells emitting from the melted ores permeated his nostrils.

"Hello?" Jaune asked. When he didn't receive a response, he called out again. "Hello?"

"What do you need?"

"AHAH!" Jaune squealed in terror as he fell to the floor from the voice behind him. He soon looked up to see a large, beefy man with brown hair and a full beard with a few strands of grey hair looking down at him. He also had a few wrinkles on his face and his exposed skin was covered with sweat, dirt, and ash. He wore baggy pants, a sleeveless white shirt that had dirt stains on it, and a leather apron that covered said shirt.

"Can I help you, son?" The man asked in a throaty, boisterous voice as he extended his hand to help Jaune up.

"Thanks; sorry about the screaming." Jaune said sheepishly as he took the man's hand and rose to his feet. "Name's Jaune Arc. I'm here on business for Taiyang Xiao Long."

"So you know Tai, eh?" The man said as his hard gaze lessened and the corners of his mouth moved into a small smile. "Then you're pretty fortunate, kid. I've known Tai for many years, and all I can say is that you couldn't have found a better huntsman to know you. Name's Phaestus, by the way." He added as he took Jaune's hand and shook it. The mere strength and vigor that Phaestus put into the handshake made Jaune feel as though the bones in his hand might break. The blacksmith reminded him of a certain red-head with a similar death grip. "So how can I help you?" Phaestus asked as soon as he let go of Jaune's hand.

"Well, I'm actually here to pick up an ax and some gardening tools for Tai." Jaune said as he flexed his sore hand.

"Well, I don't know Tai that well. We'd only just met a few months ago." Jaune admitted sheepishly. "But I do know his daughters, Ruby and Yang."

"Really?" The blacksmith asked in amusement. "Childhood friends?"

"Uh, no actually." Jaune replied. "We were classmates at Beacon."

"Oh, I see." Phaestus said simply and Jaune couldn't help but notice the change in his tone of voice when he said those words. After thirty seconds, Phaestus came back with a wooden box of tools. "Here you go, kid. All set and ready for use."

"Thanks." Jaune said as he handed some Lien that Tai had left for him to the blacksmith and turned to leave.

"Hold on a minute, kid." Phaestus called out, causing Jaune to turn back in confusion. "That sword you're carrying...mind if I take a look at it?"

Jaune gave a look of confusion before glancing down at Crocea Mors. "Oh yeah, sure." He said as he handed the sword to Phaestus. "It comes with a shield, if you want to look at that too." The blacksmith only nodded, prompting Jaune to set it on the counter.

Phaestus unsheathed the sword and moved his eyes up and down the blade as he examined it. He then positioned the sword up to his eye level and squinted his eye to check the straightness of the blade. After a while, he placed the sword on the counter and picked up the shield. He examined the edges and banged his fist on it to check its durability. "Not a bad weapon, kid." Phaestus said as he placed the shield back down onto the counter. "Make it yourself?"

"No, actually," Jaune said. "Family heirloom."

"Guess that explains all the scratches and chips." Phaestus muttered to himself as he handed the weapon back to Jaune. "You know if you leave it with me, I could upgrade it for you, polish it off, sharpen it, it'd be a big improvement for combat."

Jaune glanced down at his weapon. 'It would be cool to get Crocea Mors all patched up and upgraded.' He thought. But as those words echoed in his mind, the memories of when he had lost his battles against fighters like Pyrrha, Ruby, and even Cardin came flooding in. As he remembered how he lost so many bouts, his face saddened. 'What good is a new upgraded weapon if I'm not strong enough?'

"Thanks for the offer, Phaestus," Jaune said with a wave of his hand, "but I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself, kid." Phaestus said as he shrugged his shoulders. "But in case you change your mind, the offer's still on the table." Jaune only nodded in acknowledgment as he turned and left. 'Poor kid.' The blacksmith thought as he watched Jaune walk away. 'Can't imagine what he went through that day.'

His tasks all done, Jaune made his way back to the Xiao Long house. He smiled a bit as he remembered the people of Luxaria being so kind and peaceful. They helped each other out whenever they needed it and kept to themselves. He could fully understand why Tai would want to live near a nice town like Luxaria with Yang and Ruby. He then chuckled a bit at the thought of a younger Yang being bored out of her mind by the peaceful tranquility of the town.

Soon enough, Jaune had arrived at the house. With some skill, he managed to open the door even while caring all the groceries and the tool-filled box. "I'm back!" He called out. A sudden bark caused him to turn in time to see Zwei bounding toward him. "Hey buddy!" He said. "I'll be with you in a sec, just gotta put this stuff away."

As Jaune entered the kitchen, a flash of yellow caught his attention. His cobalt eyes soon meet lilac ones as he looked at a certain blonde beauty. "Oh, hi Yang," he said with surprise, "didn't see you there for a second."

Yang didn't respond as she continued to eat her sandwich. So as not to make the moment awkward, Jaune started putting away the groceries. "So I finally got to visit Luxaria." He said, trying to make some casual conversation. "Nice little town; could see why your dad would want to live here."

"Mhm." Yang said quietly, not even looking up at him.

Soon enough, Jaune finished putting away the groceries. He then turned to Yang and asked, "Say, I was gonna go outside and play with Zwei. Wanna join?"

"Thanks," Yang said sadly, "but I think I'll pass. I just don't feel like it." And with that, she made her way upstairs to her room.

As he watched the door to the room she was staying in close, Jaune sighed in defeat. Another attempt to talk to Yang normally gone down the drain. He then walked over to Zwei, who whined sadly. "Well, it was worth a try, buddy." He said with a shrug as he scratched him just under his chin. "C'mon, let's go play fetch." He added as he opened the door to let the dog out.

After playing with Zwei for a while, Jaune noticed that Tai had returned home from Signal. "Hey Tai." Jaune called out as he waved at the former huntsman.

"Hey, Jaune." Tai said as he waved back. "Did you get the supplies from Phaestus?"

"Yep; they're just by the door in that wooden box there." Jaune said as he pointed at said box.
Tai looked inside the box and rummaged through it to make sure nothing was out of place. He smiled a little as he noticed that all of his supplies were there. He then took out the ax and inspected it before his smile grew. "Phaestus sure does know his craft, huh?" He casually asked Jaune, who nodded in agreement. "Now then," Tai said as he sheathed the ax and handed it to Jaune, "Mind using this to chop up some firewood?"

"Sure thing." Jaune said as he took the ax and made his way over to the chopping block. Rolling up his sleeves, he grabbed a log from the pile to his left and placed on the block of wood. He then raised the ax over his head and swung it down, cutting the log perfectly down the center.

As he continued to chop wood, his mind began to wander back to the dream he had the other night. How he had ended up back in Vale, how Pyrrha had faded to ashes, and how Cinder had taunted him.

As he glanced down at the log in front of him, he imagined the piece of wood to be Cinder and his grip on the ax tightened. He then swung down on it, only for the word 'weak' to reverberate in his ears. He then picked up another log and chopped it just to hear the word 'pathetic'. Soon Jaune's breathing became erratic and his swings more forceful with each word.

Crack

'Failed'

Crack

'Pathetic'

Crack

'Weak'

Crack

'Ha Ha Ha'

Crack

"Jaune?"

Crack

"Jaune."

Jaune soon felt a hand on his shoulder from behind. Blinded by his rage, he turned and swung the ax at the owner of said hand. The person then grabbed Jaune's ax arm and threw him over his shoulder. As soon as Jaune's body hit the ground, the person pinned him and the arm down on the ground. "Jaune, calm down! It's me, Tai!"

Jaune blinked several times as his breathing slowed. He then glanced upward to see Tai holding both his arms down and wearing a look of concern on his face. After a good thirty seconds, it finally dawned on him what had happened: in his fit of rage, he had swung the ax at Tai's neck. "Oh God," Jaune said in horror as he let go of the ax, "Tai, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to attack you. I...I just..."

"Jaune, it's okay. I know you wouldn't attack me intentionally." Tai said as his facial features calmed and he got off of the boy. He then extended his hand and helped Jaune to his feet. "Look," he added as he patted the dirt off his pants, "why don't you go inside and get the table set up for dinner while I finish up here?"

Jaune only nodded in response and hurried inside. Tai picked up the ax and glanced over at the chopping block, which had several deep cuts into it. Tai shivered at the image he saw before he had tackled Jaune: at some point, Jaune had stopped chopping wood and had been hacking away at the chopping block instead. As he glanced back at Jaune's retreating figure, he thought, 'What did he even go through that day at Beacon?'

As dinner approached, Jaune still felt shame about what he had almost done. So much so that he only set up two places at the dinner table. When Tai asked why, Jaune merely responded that he "wasn't feeling hungry tonight." Tai knew that something was eating at Jaune, but rather than pry into his reasons, he let Jaune go.

Jaune then headed up the stairs, passed Yang's room, and entered his while closing the door behind him. Jaune slumped down onto the floor and rested his head against the footboard of his bed. 'It's my fault.' He thought to himself. 'I attacked Tai because I failed to save Pyrrha from Cinder. It's all my fault.'

Sighing sadly, he then reached into his pocket and pulled out his Scroll. "Still no signal." Jaune mumbled with another sigh. Though it shouldn't have come as a surprise; the island of Patch was part of the kingdom of Vale and thus wouldn't have any mobile communication with the other kingdoms.

It was when Jaune began swiping left to try and see if any of his apps worked that he noticed a new folder on the last page that said "Training". Confused, Jaune opened it and discovered a video file entitled "0". Curiosity getting the better of him, he clicked on it and his eyes widened in shock as he saw a familiar red-headed girl looking back at him.

"Alright Jaune, just like we practiced." The girl said with a smile.

"P-Pyrrha?" Jaune asked weakly, struggling to fathom the fact that his fallen partner was on his Scroll.

"Follow these instructions: shield up. Keep your grip tight. Don't forget to keep your front foot forward." Pyrrha said with a pause in between each instruction. At the video continued playing and Pyrrha kept giving instructions, Jaune realized that this video was to help him go over the moves that the two of them had used during Pyrrha's training sessions back at Beacon.

"Okay." Pyrrha said before she chuckled a bit as she continued with, "Now, assuming you aren't cheating, we can take a break." Jaune himself couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her statement. There were times when he told he was off to train when he was really slacking off and reading comic books because he was too tired. When she found out, she didn't scold him but instead made him go through Nora's rigorous exercise regimen for a week. It was a lesson Jaune would never forget as his whole body ached for a month.

"I know this can be frustrating," Pyrrha's voice said as it snapped Jaune back to his senses, "and it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount. But I want you to know that I'm proud of you." Pyrrha stated with a warm smile. "I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we've started training and I know this is just the beginning." Jaune's hands began to shake as he heard those words. Pyrrha had done so much for him, believed in him, and was willing to help in any way she could.

"Jaune...I...I..." Pyrrha's face suddenly saddened as she glanced away from the screen. Jaune could automatically see the worry in her eyes. Did she know that she might not be around for him when he needed her? Was she trying to express any feelings of love and admiration that he was too blind to notice? Whatever they were, Pyrrha didn't say them as she looked back at the screen, put on a brave face, and said "I want you to know that I am just happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune."

The video then ended two seconds after Pyrrha said Jaune's name. As Jaune continued to look at her face, he noticed two or three drops of water on the screen. He knew where they came from: they were his tears. As he lay his Scroll down with his right hand, his left moved over his mouth to stifle his cries of anguish as tears continued to flow down his face. 'Pyrrha,' he thought, 'I'm so sorry.'

Meanwhile, Tai was glancing up the stairs with a look of concern on his face. He knew something was up with Jaune; why else would he stay with him and Yang instead of going with his teammates and Ruby?

"Dad," Yang said suddenly, "You've been looking upstairs for the last ten minutes or so."

"Oh sorry, sweetie." Tai said sheepishly as he resumed to eating overcooked noodles, though he would never admit they were. "Hey, can I ask you a question?" He directed toward his daughter. When all she gave him was a shrug, he then asked, "What's up with Jaune? What happened to him at Beacon?"

Sighing, Yang met his gaze and said "There was this girl named Pyrrha Nikos who was both his partner and teammate at Beacon. She seemed to be the only one there who truly believed he could be a great huntsman. She even trained him so he could be stronger. She had this crush on him, but he was too oblivious to realize it. By the time he figured it out, it was too late." Yang paused as her gaze was cast downward. "She died trying to stop the person behind the whole attack on Beacon and Vale. I heard Jaune was wrecked by her loss. Probably still is." She added.

"I see." Tai said simply before he returned to his food. So the kid lost someone near and dear to him, huh? Tai himself had been there before. It was at that moment an idea popped into the older blonde's head. He may not have been showing it, but he was already formulating a way to help Jaune with his problem.

And with that, the next chapter of Love Heals All Wounds has ended. Sorry if some of you felt that this chapter was really angsty, but there is literally no other way to describe what Jaune has been going through lately without being angsty. Don't worry though; the next chapter will be touching and comforting.

Anyway, kudos to my beta reader Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov for reviewing the chapter and introducing me to Grammarly.

Until then, this is AnimeFan299110 encouraging you all to go out with a Yang...GODDAMMIT BARB!